Priessnitz compress



. Jan. 22, 1946.; p. SCHLUMBOHM' 2,393,446

PRIESSNITZ COMPRESS Filed Nov. 9, 1943 Patented Jan. 22, 1946 was 95; lea-1. a

the wet cloth. It is a very ingenious combination The invention refers to 'therapeutical equipment and, more specifically, aims at's'implifying ai Priessnitz compress. consists or a Wet'clotl'i, placed next tothe skin, covered with a watr repeller'itcloth, and this sulating cloth of wool or 'fiannel.

A Pri'es's "t'z compress is an old highly beneficial household remedy, applied especially around the neck totre'at head-colds. This simple therapy again' cover'ed by a third, outeriayerer neat iii is not really popular, because such a three-layer bandage is cumbersome and bulky. It takes a second person to apply it. properly and requires skill to tie it firmly without causing uncomfortable feelings of strangulation.

This compress was the instinctive invention of a simple farmer, who achieved great fame by the wonder cures he performed with it (Vinzenz Priessnitz, 1799- 851). The medical profession adopted this technique, contenting itself with the good empirical results.

Viewing medicine as a chemist and physicist, I have tried to analyze the method and to simplify the means. As a result of this approach I offer a modified method and a very simple new Priessnitz-compress as my invention, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing by way of examples.

Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show the new compress applied to the neck ofa person. Fig. 3 is a cross section (33) of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view of a part of the compress and Fig. 5 is a view of a modification of the part shown in Fig, l, v

Before describing the equipment, I would like to explain the new aspect:

Referring to the original Priessnitz, it seems that the purpose of the wet cloth is to function as a moist wick) to store a supply of waterin contact with the skin, where it has two functions. One function is a balneo-therapeutic effect, freeing the area of application of nervous spasm and conditioning this part of the body for the dilatory innervation of the blood vessels as described below.

The other function is to serve as refrigerant to produce wet-bulb temperature effects at the skin. Cooperating in this respect with the water is the outer wool cloth, serving as heat-insulator, so that the evaporation heat for evaporating the water is supplied by the human body and not by the ambient air. The rubberized water-repellent cloth keeps the wool dry to maintain its heatinsulating property, localises the water supply and limits the surface for evolving of water va-.

pors to the contact zone between the skin and "Such compress ew:

zone 'is' cooled.

10, izbo d'y' (something always t e n a ement l Takin h e for? v greens t ter;

om e human 'b (is means that thel conta *Sucl'i localbooling ru s '6 to a principle of the human body, whic like 1 to define as the principle of mai' 1 is'o-thermalfrdnt. Du "to th s tendency of ma taihing messin temperatu t s11; parts of t e taken for-grammes yet in itself a terrific engineering job), the body reacts against this local loss of heat by sending new B. t, u.s into this breach of the thermal front. How? By sending more blood through said zone. It appears, that Natures way of a selective variation of blood circulation is based on theelastic and capillary structure of the blood vessels, allowing for a temperature-responsive dilating effect. This effect of the Priessnitz compress of dilating the veins and of lowering the flow-resistance of the blood is the key to its benefits.

Due to the difference in viscosity between arterial and the thicker veneous blood, such lowering of flow-resistance is of special importance in the veneous zones of the blood circuit.

My invention is, no longer to apply the Priessnitz all around the neck, but to limit it to the zone of its specific effect, to the zone of the jugular veins. Such a "Schlumb-ohm-Priessnitz compress will be indicated in all sickness cases, which involve an inflammation of the jugular veins and thereby create a-as I call it-Angina a'ugularis. This new method may use the old 3-layer Priessnitz element. I have found also a simplified Priessnitz element in the form of a cut fresh potato, which is applied with the cut surface to the skin. A potato stores a suflicient water supply to last through the night. The surface offered for evolving of water Vapors is, as in the original'Priessnitz element analyzed above, again limited to the contact zone. The potato itself, including its skin, serves as heatinsulator against the ambient air, and the heat for evaporating the water is withdrawn from the human skin. I

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of examples, some simple equipment to perform my invention. As shown in. Figs. 1 and 2 in views and in Fig. 3 in section, the potato pieces are held in a holder for each piece, the two holders being tied to the neck and held there near the jugular veins by means of an adjustable strap.

Obviously, it is possible to provide many meelliptical ring element. the potato, and the walls of the ring are conical chanical variations of such a holder, and I shall give only three modifications as examples.

In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the holder is shown as an A toothed edge engages to have the teeth bite at an angle. Eyes for the strap are stamped out of the material of the walls. A non-rusting metal, like aluminum, will probably be the best material.

In Fig. 4, the holder has the feature of a biting mouth. The ring element is not closed but has two free ends, each with an eye for a common strap-piece. The opening is in the zone of the large axis of the elliptic element. An elastic material, like metal or plastics, allows then a biting effect of an upper jaw and a lower jaw, the jaws hinging in the zone of the large axis. This will engage the teeth in the potato, and they will be held there by the pull of the strap.

In Fig. 5, the ring element is stamped out of sheet material, like metal or plastics, and is sufliciently flexible to allow bending around the shorter axis of the elliptic body. This again will give a biting action of the teeth. The pull of the strap will then tend to keep the sunk-in teeth in the potato.

In the zone of the Adams apple, the strap is equipped with a shield of larger area than the area of the strap itself would be (if applied without said shield). This will reduce the sensitivity of that part of the neck against the pressure of the strap.

I claim as my invention:

1. Spot-Priessnitz-compress to cover local spots of the human skin, the Priessnitz compress being of the type, in which part of the surface of a moist wick is kept in a contact zone in contact with the skin to allow evaporation of water for cooling efiects in said contact zone, while the remaining surface of and the water in said wick are sealed against the ambient air by sealing means; said spot-Priessnitz-compress comprising a halved raw potato and holding means engaged to the body and to the potato-half and adapted to maintain a slight pressure-contact between the human skin and the moist cut potato, utilizing thus the inner body of the potato as said wick and the skin of the potato as said sealing means.

2. Spot-Priessnitz-compress as claimed in claim 1 specifically adapted to cover on each side of the neck the zone of the jugular veins, comprising two potato halves and holding means engaged to the body and to the two potato halves and adapted to fixate one potato half on each side of the neck in said jugular zone and to maintain there a slight pressure-contact betweenthe moist cut surface of the potato and the human skin.

PETER SCI-ILUMBOHM. 

